Police dogs are trained to subdue criminals.
During a heated fight 11 years ago, one of those dogs bit a man’s arm and leg.
Unfortunately, the arm and leg were not attached to the criminal suspect.
The dog, Wiley, a Belgian Malinois, bit Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy David Heins in the arm and leg. Heins was taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where his wounds were stitched up and he was released.
Heins and the dog’s handler, Officer Jay Wineinger, were at a Southeast Omaha home with three other officers, serving a warrant for an ex-convict, David Cermak.
In the struggle, Cermak, who was armed, shot deputy Tom Flynn in the side. Cermak was shot dead.
Heins was injured by Wiley during the confrontation with Cermak.
Wiley, a 4-year-old boy, had been with Wineinger since 2008 and was one of six dogs at the agency. Wineinger was placed on administrative leave during the shooting investigation, Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Glandt said, so Wiley was also on leave.
People are also reading…
“If officers have enough time, they have a warrant to call (their dogs),” Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning said. “But again, you are dealing with an animal. A trained animal, but still an animal.”
One of the cardinal rules that officers must observe when a police dog is on the scene is to refrain from chasing someone if they are running.
“The dog is not going to differentiate,” Glandt said. “There is no guarantee that the dog will not chase you.”
This was not the first time Wiley, who Glandt estimated to weigh 80 pounds, had bitten an officer. During a training exercise in 2010, Glandt said, the dog bit another officer in the back of the head.
Police service dogs are great tools, said sheriff’s Capt. Steve Glandt, who oversaw the sheriff’s K-9 unit at the time. But they are not perfect.
Let’s take a look at a few more “good dogs” that have protected and served:
Photos: Police Dogs in the Metropolitan Area Through the Years
A police K-9 sports a black-banded badge after the death of fellow K-9 Nero. The dog and officers attended a memorial service at Bellevue Cemetery for Nero on November 28, 2001.
KILEY CRUSE, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
Dingo was born in the Netherlands and was with the Omaha police from 2008 to 2015. He served as both a patrol dog and a drug detection dog.
OMAHA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Omaha Police K-9 Officer Aaron Hanson uses a hose to give his dog, Falco, water near 31st and Laurel avenues on July 9, 2012.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
In this 2013 photo, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Trobaugh is shown with Rudy the police dog in the K-9 training area at the Prairie Hills Work Release Center in rural Sioux City . Rudy retired after serving with the department for 13 years.
Heidi Winter, center, and Raven Winter-Carden with Officer Dustin Franks and Spike, one of four Bellevue police dogs in 2013. The occasion was a fundraiser for the Bellevue Police Department’s K-9 program organized by Karray’s Cafe at 36th Street and Highway 370.
Tar, the 3-year-old police dog from La Vista, wears his new gear in this photo from 2013. The vest, which costs about $1,000, was donated by Vested Interest in K9s, a nonprofit organization.
THE OPINION OF THE POLICE
La Vista Police K-9 Officer John Danderand throws a rope for K-9 Hart in 2014. Danderand was the department’s first K-9 officer. Hart, 2, was his third dog.
KELSEY STEWART, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
Ffred, a 12-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, jumps towards his toy. Two members of the Omaha Police Canine Explosives Detection Team, Ffred and Rogue, are honored at their retirement ceremony. The event was held at the Emergency Response Unit building at 136th Street and Millard Avenue in Omaha on February 19, 2015.
KENT SIEVERS, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
Sergeant Steve Worley, of the Omaha Police Department’s K-9 unit, Justin Rutherford, a former Georgia police chief who was in rehab after an accident, and Kinyarie Dethloff, director of residential services at QLI, watched as Tye, a dog with the K-9 Unit, worked during bite training at the Omaha Police Department K-9 Training Center on April 22, 2015.
RYAN SODERLIN, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
Bellevue officer Jim Bartley with Axe, who died at age 10 after a period of declining health. Ax retired from duty with the Bellevue Police Department on August 28, 2018, after six years on the job.
KELSEY STEWART, THE HERALD OF THE WORLD
Danz, an Omaha police bomb-sniffing dog, was in Minneapolis to help with security for Super Bowl week in 2018.
OMAHA POLICE DEPARTMENT
In 2018, Bellevue Police Officer Jim Bartley posed with “Axe,” who had recently died after serving six years with the department.
WORLD HERALD NEWS SERVICE
Officer Dan Torres and his new partner, Peace, at Police Central Headquarters in 2019.
ALIA CONLEY, THE WORLD’S HERALD
Deputy Amanda Illuzzi and her police dog, Checque, from the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office in 2019.
CHEYENNE ALEXIS, WORLD HERALD NEWS SERVICE